As of January 1, 2026, comprehensive legislative changes entered into force, aimed at establishing legal certainty and achieving extensive parity between freelancers and regular employees (echte Dienstnehmer:innen). The new regulations are intended to reduce the attractiveness of employing individuals on the basis of a freelance contract (freier Dienstvertrag) as a means of circumventing labor law provisions.
The legislative amendment applies exclusively to freelancers within the meaning of Section 4 para 4 General Social Insurance Act (Allgemeines Sozialversicherungsgesetz, ASVG), while independent contractors under the Social Insurance Act for the Self-Employed (Gewerbliches Sozialversicherungsgesetz, GSVG) remain unaffected.
Freelancers are not statutorily regulated under general labor law. Due to the lack of statutory termination provisions, it was previously necessary to contractually agree upon reasonable notice periods.
With this legislative amendment, unilaterally mandatory termination provisions for freelancers have been established for the first time. Indefinite independent employment relationships can now be terminated as of the 15th or the last day of a calendar month, subject to a four-week notice period, which increases to six weeks after the second year of service. Furthermore, the first month may be agreed upon as a probationary period, during which the...
Earlier today, the New York Department of Consumer and Worker Protection issued a report claiming DoorDash is tricking consumers to reduce tips. The report gets a lot wrong. Here are the facts. My...